Fly
by BeingWhoIWishIWas
Summary: Aella has recently moved from her high school in Greece to Kaibara High in the middle of the year because of her caretakers job. She meets Tohru, and the Sohmas and finds out that she's not the only one with secrets.
1. Beginning of a VERY long day

_Author's note! Ok, so I posted this story a while ago, took it down and edited it! I changed a few things regarding...well...everything! please tell me if this is stupid or poorly written or whatever so I know if I should concentrate my energy on my other stories or on this one. Pairings undecided. Please read and review! :)_

* * *

_Happy first day of school to me. _I think sarcastically. Kaibara High school seems a lot like my old school, so I doubt I'm going to like it. Especially because I'm starting school here halfway through the year.

I'm in my second year of high school, and changing schools during high school is the worst. I head to the front office, where I'm supposed to have someone show me around the school.

"Hi, I'm Aella. I'm new and was told to come to the front office." I say confidently.

The pudgy office man doesn't look up from his computer but gestures to the chairs that line the wall. I glare at him and sit down next to a nervous looking girl. I play with my beaded bracelet, then stop, not wanting it to come off by accident, that would be disastrous.

After a few minutes of her nervous shifting and tapping her pen on her binder I ask, "What's wrong?"

Her face automatically brightens to a smile, "Oh! Nothing I'm just waiting for someone." She says, her smile so big it looks painful. "I'm going to give a student a tour…Well I guess she's not a student yet, she's new so…" She rambles on.

I smile politely, "Really? I'm actually new today! Are you Tohru Honda?"

Her face lights up again, "Yes! You must be Aella!"

She gets up and says something to the busy secretary and beckons for me to follow her into the hall.

"Ok! Welcome to Kaibara High! The secretary said we have all the same classes so you can hang out with my friends and me today! Class starts in about ten minutes so we can go find Uo and Hana if you'd like to meet them."

I nod and we walk down the hallways until we reach the class labeled 2D. I follow Tohru inside and we sit by the girls Tohru introduces as Uo and Hana.

"So you're new here, huh?" Uo says with and eyebrow raised and a teasing tone.

"Yeah, this is my ninth school since I left Elementary school."

"Dang! That's insane, why'd ya switch schools so much?" She asks.

I shrug and explain that I live with a friend of my parents, (an American named June) and she's a freelance photographer so we have to chase down whatever newspaper or magazine wants to hire her.

Hana stares at me and quietly states, "You have strange electric signals. Not fully human."

I blink and then laugh, " OK, cool! I never knew I was an alien!" I joke.

She shakes her head, "Actually more animalistic than other-worldly." I stiffen. How accurate is she, exactly?"

Hana shrugs and says, "Perhaps you were an animal in another life."

I nod, "I guess that could be true."

"Are you Aella? The new student?" A soft voice says.

I turn around and a silver-headed boy is looking at me.

Before I can reply Tohru answers, "Oh! Yuki! I forgot to introduce you to Aella!"

Yuki smiles and shakes my hand, "A pleasure to meet you miss Aella."

Suddenly Uo calls, "Hey orange-Top! Come say Hi to Aella." I'm pretty sure she just wants to annoy him.

An orange haired boy walks over grumbling, "Stupid Yankee." He looks up and glares at me. "I'm Kyo."

I cross my arms and sarcastically say, "Lovely."

He bristles and hurries out of the room, brushing past a bunch of girls who are staring obsessively at Yuki. The glare at me furiously, as though I should be afraid of them, like I've done something wrong. I glare daggers right back.

Yuki leaves and Uo, Tohru, Hana and I all talk about random things, after they explain to me that Kyo and Yuki are related and Tohru live together with the boys cousin, Shigure.

Uo and me are quickly becoming friends, mainly because she's a former Yankee who kicks butt, and I've been taking martial arts since I could walk. Hana thinks we're crazy and Tohru keeps saying something about Kyo and Yuki liking martial arts. My response way a very complex and interested, "ok" (oh how I love sarcasm!)

The teacher walks in and I sit next to Tohru and an empty seat. We start class, but it's nothing I don't know so I just daydream.

Kyo walk in late and the only seat empty is next to mine. Dang it!

Kyo grumbles as the teacher points to the seat, she smacks his head with a ruler and I swear that Kyo catches on fire, but he keeps his mouth shut.

Class now crawls by unbelievably slow and when the lunch bell rings I have to force myself not to bolt out the door. One can only take so many glares without slapping someone, between_ Kyo and the fan-girls I'm needing to bash someone's head in, ASAP._

I wait for Tohru and the others and I enter the lunchroom, though to my dismay, we sit with Kyo and Yuki.

Kyo and Yuki are bickering like little kids and its getting annoying.

"Stupid Cat!" "Dumb Rat!" lets just all rhyme today ok, kiddies? I feel like banging my head on the table. Eventually I get up and walk behind the old married couple and out one hand on each of their heads and…

_Crash!_

"OW!" Kyo yells, his face turning red. "What the heck Aella?"

Yuki just rubs his head.

I smirk and sit back down, but this time in the middle of the two Sohma's.

"_I said,_ "What the heck?" Kyo repeats himself.

I turn slightly and glare at him, "You're constant bickering was driving me insane! You two sound like me and J—" I pause, not finishing that sentence. It's none of their business anyways. I just sit there, raging silently. I try to get up, but Kyo does too at the same time. We fall on the floor, I land on him, and the back of my shoulder hits his head and chest. I get off him faster than I fell and blushing furiously, I reach out a hand to help him up, which he refuses. Then I notice it; He's wearing a bracelet like mine. But then why is he shocked he didn't transform (if he transforms at all) if his bracelet didn't fall off. He's staring at me, shocked, so does Yuki and Tohru. Hana and Uo just start cracking up. (Thanks guys.) I finger my bracelet again. He looks at my wrist and his eyes widen. He must transform, or he wouldn't react that way.

School continues and I wonder about Kyo all day, and when the bell rings, signaling the end of school. _Thank goodness. _

Before I walk out of school, Tohru and the Sohma's catch up to me.

"Hey! Where ya goin'?" Kyo calls because Yuki and Tohru are probably too quiet.

I wait for them to catch up and then say, "Home"

Tohru nods happily, "Oh! Well we live over this way too! Can we walk with you?"

It'd be awkward to refuse so I nod. It's silent, other than Tohru occasionally prompting a question out of me, but conversation never starts.

We have to walk through Sohma property to get to my house, so Tohru, being sweet as always asks if I'd like to stay for dinner.

I stand there awkwardly, and eventually say, "Um, ok, If it's not too much trouble."

At least I don't have to be around June right now, we've been arguing a lot lately and I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now, so I just call her telling her I'm going to eat with some friends.

An adult comes around the corner saying, "Hello—OH! Who's this!" He says smiling a bit to wide.

Yuki hits him on the head with a book saying, "Quit being such a pervert Shigure"

Tohru heads into the kitchen and I just talk to Yuki and occasionally Shigure (until he says something perverted then I hit him with something and he scurries off) Kyo disappeared off somewhere.

Kyo walks in, looking irritated but not as much as earlier.

Tohru comes through the kitchen door with some food, Kyo tries walking into the kitchen without looking up and runs straight into Tohru. It tries to bolt past me but I scoop it up and hold it at arms length.

"HEY!" the cat yells.

_The cat yells._

"Oh no." I mutter. Kyo claws at me, so I pull his tail.

Yuki, Shigure and Tohru are all trying to explain what happened and how Kyo's still on the roof and they picked up this cat off the street.

I hold the cat form of Kyo in one arm and point at him, "HEY! I know this is Kyo, and I know that you're cursed!"

Silence. So terribly awkward.

"Uh-um, how do you know about the curse?" Shigure says nervously.

I roll my eyes and set Kyo down, then sit down on a mat. "You think the Sohma's are the only ones?" I say in monotone.

More silence. _ Cat got your tongue?_

"Well they aren't." I state, saying the obvious.

I point to my wrist. "I'm not sure how your curse works but mine is just the bracelet. If it comes off I transform."

Tohru looks curious and asks, "What Zodiac do you turn into?"

I blink, startled at the bluntness but say, "I don't turn into a Zodiac, My family turns into the sacred animals of the Greek Olympians.

"So what are you?" Shigure asks, paraphrasing Tohru.

I'm about to answer when Kyo gets impatient and clamps his teeth around my bracelet and pulls it off. _Stupid cat._

I gasp and a puff of white smoke follows. The others stare in shock at the owl I transformed into.

"You're a bird!" Tohru says, "What kind?"

"I'm an owl." I say annoyed.

"What does that symbolize?" Yuki asks, clearly confused.

"The owl is Athena's sacred animal; owl's symbolize wisdom and strategy in battle." I say, well rehearsed.

"Really?" Kyo says dryly, still in cat form.

I tense, "Of course!"

I spread my wings and flap once, batting Kyo's face before he pounces on my tail feathers. Yuki glares at him. I fly up and sit on the bookcase so Kyo can't eat me. (Though I'd like to see him try, he couldn't catch me on my worst day!) Kyo changes back and I bury my eyes in my feathers while he gets dressed.

"It's ok, he's dressed." Yuki says to Tohru and I.

I fly down back to where my bracelet and clothes are and say, "Can someone move my clothes into the bathroom so I can transform in there?" I carefully pick up my bracelet in my beak.

Tohru puts my stuff in the bathroom as I asked and once I've flown in there she shuts the door and I slip my bracelet over my talons and get dressed.

I return to the room and there's someone knocking at the door. Tohru goes to open it and lets them in cheerily. She smiles and says, "Aella it's your mom!" I stiffen and so does June.

"She's not my mom, just my guardian." I say bluntly.

Tohru colors and apologizes several times; both June and me assure her that it's fine, keeping up our poker faces without a crack.

June turns to me and says, "Aella, you're very late."

"I called you and told you I'd be at a friends house." I say defiantly.

"It's not safe for you to be around people," she says then directs the next part to the Sohmas and Tohru, "Unfortunately Aella is not it to be around people for too long, she can get angry easily and has been known to hurt people."

I bristle visibly and grit my teeth saying, "I do not! How is it my fault they attacked me! What was I supposed to do? Just say 'ok, you can kill me, that's fine?" I say in a mocking tone.

"Young lady! We are going home now. Apologize for the inconvenience to these nice people who pity you."

I curl my hands into fists. "Leave me alone! You're not my mom! Don't tell me what to do!"

Yuki steps in, "Miss Aella was invited, she's no trouble at all."

"Yes! Aella's really nice!" Tohru inputs cheerily.

Kyo looks annoyed, "Yeah, we'd kick her out if she was trouble."

"Well we don't kick you out, Kyo, and you're plenty of trouble." Yuki mutters.

June looks a little suspicious but calmer than she was. "you know, don't you?" She says quietly.

Everyone in the room freezes.

"But you don't care, do you?" She says, more to herself than the others.

"Of course not" Yuki says the same time Kyo says, "Why would we?"

Tohru just smiles.

June looks up, a crazy little glint in her eye. "Fine. Easier on me." She turns to me. "You defied me. Pack your stuff and be out of my house by tomorrow night. Have fun on the streets you little freak."

I blink, utterly confused. Sure, June and me didn't always see eye to eye, but she was always just there for me. Why would she suddenly hate me?

"Don't look so betrayed! The only reason I ever bothered with you was because I promised your mom to help you until you didn't need me. I've always been good at acting, and every month you were "Ok" I got paid from the giant bank account your parents had." She sneers.

My head starts spinning and my eyes start to sting._ What? This is moving too fast, why is she doing this NOW?_

She storms out and slams the door behind her, the closet thing I though I had to family reveals she was being paid to pretend to care for me.

I blink back tears and start to walk out the door to June's to get my stuff and what money I have to pay for a hotel until I find a job.

As I slid open the door Kyo grabs my wrist, "Just wait a second, ok?"

Tohru brings out the rest of dinner and sets it on the table, "lets eat and then figure this out, ok?"

"Why are you guys helping me? I ask, confused, "You've barely known me for a day!"

Tohru shrugs, smiles and says, "They helped me after knowing me for three hours!"

I laugh and say, "Ok then"

I smile and know that I can figure this out, and I have friends to help me.

* * *

Ok! so this is my new fic, and it will be multi-chaptered and its my first one for Fruits Basket so if you find anything messed up with it tell me please! I don't own fruits basket (obviously) but Aella is an OC and I'd love to know if you guys like her or not :) Also, Aella is a greek name and means "storm wind; whirlwind" She was also an Amazon (female warrior) who was killed by Hercules when he came to get Hippolyte's Girdle. Read and review please! I have no idea if readers will like the Zodiac and greek mythology mix so feel free to tell me what you think!

-BeingWhoIWishIWas


	2. That's a little weird

We sit around the table; talking small talk and just being awkward in general. I'm sure they thought that the previous events were majorly weird, but they're trying to be nice anyway.

Finally, a vein explodes on Kyo's forehead and he stands up, yelling, "What are you looking at, you dumb rat?"

I face palm and say, "Just sit down, Kyo. He wasn't doing anything."

His fierce glare turns on me, "You've known us for less than twenty-four hours and you automatically side with him!"

_Extend arm; palm to face._

Yuki closes his eyes and sighs, annoyed.

Tohru's eyes grow wide as she waves her arms back and forth frantically, " It's ok, it's ok! Please don't fight."

Shigure raises an eyebrow and exhales, "If you're picking a fight do it outside, no house-wrecking today, please."

"Come on Rat-Boy, you scared?" Kyo smirks.

Yuki stands up calmly and walks over to the door, then opens it.

"Ladies first." He says in a dangerously calm voice.

Kyo growls and then charges at Yuki, how sidesteps at the last second and Kyo flies through the open door.

Yuki peers through the doorframe and mutters, "Stupid Cat" before shutting the door.

The door slides open and Kyo walks in and grabs Yuki by his collar. Yuki throws a quick punch at his head. His fist connects with Kyo's head and he's sent flying through the door. Shigure starts crying and screaming about the universe wanting to wreck his house. Kyo gets up and wipes his bloody nose with the back of his hand.

"That all you got, Pretty Boy?" he sneers.

Yuki crosses his arms and walks into the yard.

"Don't hold back, Rat-Boy!"

The two boys settle themselves into a ready position; knees slightly bent and arms up in fist, ready to attack or defend and over all; move very quickly.

Poor Tohru's freaking out, her arms are flailing about and her eyes are bugged out.

The two boys are really going at it; Kyo's managed to get a few hits on Yuki, but Kyo's taking a beating but refuses to give up.

I couldn't tell what caused the fight, but based on Shigure's reaction it's probably a relatively normal occurrence.

I shake my head and walk through the wrecked door and into the yard.

"Hey! Just stop it!" I scream at them.

They don't even acknowledge me. I cross my arms and glare at them for a moment, partially wishing that they would catch on fire.

Finally, I just sort of snap; I'd had enough fighting for today.

Yuki's flying through the air, a high kick on target for Kyo's chest, and Kyo's fist is hurtling towards Yuki's head. I step in between the two and catch Yuki's foot and Kyo's hand. I force their momentum just a smidge apart from each other using a technique my dad taught me (use only a little of your own strength and let physics do the rest), then let go. In a split second the boys fly in the direction that they were aiming for; but the only thing they connect with is the ground.

I step back and glare at them. "Hey! You've been at each other's throats for thirty minutes now and it's getting boring. Get up and go eat your dinner."

Both boys gawk at me and stand up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

When we're all seated at the table Shigure states, "Well it's quite the lady you two have gotten here!"

Kyo flushes red and steam starts to come out of his ears. Yuki colors a little but replies calmly, "It's not like that, we've barely known her for a day."

Shigure chuckles and says, "Well I must say, Aella might be able to beat Yuki! Certainly Haru and Kyo…"

"Haru?" Tohru asks, but no one hears her over the argument.

"She can beat him but not me!" Kyo blows up. "She's just a stupid girl!"

I cross my arms and huff, "Do you get beat up by stupid girls often? It was easy enough for me."

"For a symbol of wisdom you sure hot-headed." Shigure inputs cheerfully.

I snort and say defensively, "Athena was known for having a bad temper! She was also a goddess of _war!"_

"Oh! I'm sure Aella meant no harm, Kyo!" Tohru says hurriedly, trying to calm him down.

"Yes, Kyo, you ought to stay on good terms with Miss Aella; you could learn a thing or two from her." Yuki says in monotone.

"Hey! She sent you flying too! You're just as bad!"

Yuki shrugs and replies, "At least I'm not denying it; you refuse to accept help."

I wave my arms in their faces protesting, "I never said I would help!"

"Ha! I don't need help!" Kyo sneers.

I sit down, exhausted. _I'll just let this play out._ I start thinking about what happened with June, and I let out a shaky sigh. Tears threaten to form; burning at the back of my eyes. _The only reason I even bothered…_

I look up and realize that the room's gone quiet and three pairs of eyes are staring at me, concerned.

My only reaction is to blink; I can't imagine why they're staring at me. I feel a small drop of hot liquid run down my face and look up, wondering if there's a leak from a pipe of something odd like that…

"Miss Aella….are you alright?" Yuki asks, eyes wide and brow furrowed.

Kyo looks at me warily, "Yeah, did we accidentally hit you when you sent us flying or something?"

"Huh?" is the only thing that comes out of my mouth before I realize that a tear had run down my face.

I wipe it away quickly, and a bit shamefully. "No, I'm perfectly fine." I say with a forced smile. _I am fine, right?_

The Sohmas sit back down and the rest of dinner goes without incident. (Okay, so there was a bit of bickering)

The phone rings and Shigure gets up to answer it.

His eyebrows arch in surprise and he gasps,

_"Akito?"_

* * *

Author's note!

Heyyy! Sorry its so short and for the Cliffhanger! (Mwahaha!) Okay, so I know the story seems a little plotless right now, but It'll develop more in the next few chapters. Also, a huge thanks to my reviewers; **SparkleFaith, ThatOneChickWhoWritesFanfic and cometgirl2323! (You guys are awesome!)** Also, please review to tell my how I'm doing with the characters; if they sound like themselves etc. Also, the story doesn't follow the plot of the series; its mostly mine, so don't freak if none of this happened in the anime or manga though I may include some scenes from the anime or manga (havent decided which yet, I welcome input by the way)

thanks for reading (and hopefully reviewing! ;)

-BeingWhoIWishIWas


	3. Feel Free to Punch June

"_Akito?"_

* * *

_"_Eh? Akito's calling?" Kyo asks, mouth full of food and one eyebrow arched.

Yuki's eyes widen, and he goes paler than normal; it's like he's afraid of this 'Akito' person.

Even Tohru seems to know who Akito is. Whoever he is, he must be important. I just hope he's not anything like my old friend, who went by the same name. At least I know this Akito is not the one I knew; my friend disappeared long ago after his father died.

Shigure is chewing his lip and his voice has gone higher than normal, "So y-you're just gonna send Hatori over is all? Okay, thanks."

He slams the phone down and rushes back over to the table with a forced smile plastered on his face.

"What'd ha want?"Ko asks suspiciously.

"Well, apparently Akito is aquainted with June. He wants to meet Aella. But Hatori probably won't let him come, so Hatori himself is coming instead."

Yuki lets out a breath of relief, "Dodged a bullet there."

"Hatori's not so bad, though. He was nice when I had to go to the Main House." Tohru inputs brightly.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. We all jump in surprise. _Is it Hatori? How'd he get here so fast? _Tohru gets up and goes to the door. The room is completely silent as we anticipate the scrape of the door opening.

"TOHRU!" A high, almost girly voice screeched.

"Ah! It's Momiji!" Tohru calls happily from the door. A little blonde kid rushes into the room, talking faster and faster with each second. Momiji, I assume. Momiji buzzes around the room happy energy radiating off of him.

Finally he realizes that he doesn't know me and bounces over to me, grinning eat to ear like a five year old.

"Hi! I'm Momiji Sohma!" He greets cheerfully.

I smile and say, "I'm Aella, good to meet you, Momiji."

He grins wider then replies in a stream of questions, "Is Tohru your friend? She's my friend. Have you met Hatori? Does Kyo Bug you? What about Yuki?"

"I swear every time you open your stupid little mouth..." Kyo growls from behind Momiji and then starts trying to crush his head.

"WAAAAHHHHHH!" Momiji whines as rivers of tears start trying to carve canyons in his face. "Kyo is HURTING ME!"

I roll my eyes then notice that Yuki and Shigure have crowded by the doorway. I get up to see who they're talking to. A tall man in a gray-brown suit and brown hair is leaning on the doorframe, talking to them. _That must be Hatori._ The supposed Hatori notices my raised eyebrows in his general direction and nods in greeting.

"You must be Aella." He says it as a statement, very monotonously.

"And you are Hatori." We measure each other up, seeing if we are friend or foe. I am inconclusive about him. I think it will depend upon Akito.

I walk over and Yuki moves aside slightly, making room in the small circle.

"Akito sent me."

"Why?"

Shigure chuckles nervously, "Ah..look! Kyo's trying to kill Momiji, I'll just go help..." With that, he shuffles away. Yuki rolls his eyes at his cousin, obviously annoyed.

"You haven't answered my question." I state curtly.

Yuki sighs, "That's just how Hatori is. Don't take offense."

"I have been told that June was your guardian, is that correct?" Hatori pries.

"Yes."

"Did you have a decent relationship with her as far as guardian and child goes?" This guy need an award for being the least sensitive man on earth. Either that or is Boss Akito does.

"Uh-huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks skeptically.

I shrug, continuing to be cryptic. "We had some minor squabbles but nothing too serious, I usually kept my opinions to myself."

"You don't seem like one to shut yourself up." Hatori observed correctly.

That one stung. "Yes, I am rather opinionated, but I know when to stop...most of the time. Besides, I had my reasons."

"Naturally."

Theres a sharp shreik, so Yuki turns around to see what the matter is; Hatori and I continue to glare at each other. I hope I can make him burst into flames if I glare hard enough...

"Athena!" Hatori says, as though in replacement of "Eureka"

Then, Hatori actually..well...he actually _laughs._ Yuki's stunned, and he's not the only one; Everyone is completely shocked. Then I realize what's so funny, and I start laughing too.

"THe Athena really came out just then, didn't it?" I ask, amused.

He nods, a slight smile on his face. "I don't think Akito's going to like you very much, though I'd like to see you two debate something; Akito isn't used to someone willing to stand up to him. Not since he was a kid."

"Ehhhh? What happened?" Kyo grumbles, "I still don't see whats funny."

I shake my head and reply, "Hatori was trying to find out what I was in regards to my animal transformation."

Tohrus brow furrows and she asks, "So, it's funny?"

"Considering I was about ready to punch him, when he could have just asked what I was, yeah, I find it a little funny." I reply.

Momiji smiles widely, "So Aella knows about the curse?"

"I am cursed, just differently. If my bracelet comes off, I transform." I explain for the second time today.

"Oh! I'm cursed too, like Kyo, Yuki, and the others! Guess what I am! Guess! Guess!" The little boy squeals excitedly.

"I will by the time you leave." I reassure him just before he bounds off to annoy Kyo and Yuki.

The phone rings yet again and Shigure answers it. He gestures for me to come over and hands me the phone. "It's for you ."

I pick it up and talk into it, grimacing at the static coming through the phone, " 'Ello?"

"Aella?" A voice says through the static, I couldn't even tell if it was male or female.

"Yeah, this is she." I reply. "Who are you and why are you calling me here?"

"I am Nikias. We've met before." He says coldly.

"Ah." _This explains it, then. It's the Vulture._

_"_What do you want,_ Nikias_?" I say curtly, spitting out his name like its poison.

"A meeting. The Elder request your presence."

"Of course it had to be Elder. If it were up to you I would have been killed long ago. Right, Nikias?" I say, my voice dripping in annoyance.

"Nah. The Family needs the Athena."

"But they didn't need Hephaestus, or my Mom did they?" I snarl.

"Not a single bit." Nikias snickers.

"Tell Elder I'm never gonna help her again, not if it gets people who just want to protect me killed! no get off the freaking phone before I come and hunt you down." I growl murderously.

Nikias snickers and slams the phone down.

I slam down my own end of the line and walk back to the room with everyone in it. I plop down on a cushion and think. and think. and think.

"Miss Aella, may I ask what you are so intent on?" Yuki asks.

I look up, startled and blinking like I haven't seen light in a long time. They look expectant and I realize Yuki asked me something.

"Come again?" I ask.

"What'cha thinking about?" Kyo snorts.

"Ah. I had a old...ah..not entirely sure what to call him...anyway he called me and I've been summoned by Elder."

"So he's like your boy-friend?" Momiji asks innocently, "Or ex-boyfriend?"

"Are you trying to make me puke?" I snort, "Nikias is more of a rival turned ally, then extremely annoying and slightly evil rival."

"Huh." Hatori says, "Sounds complicated."

"Yeah." I laughed.

"And what of Elder?" Yuki asks.

"She's the leader of our family; Zeus."

"Soooooo she's like Akito?" Momiji compares.

"I guess."

* * *

There's a knock on the door about thirty minutes later, Hatori and Momiji have left and I figured out Momiji is a rabbit. Tohru opens the door again and she seems a bit startled as she leads the visitor into the main room.

Its a teenaged guy, dressed in dark gray with a black trench coat.

He smirks and says, "Aella."

I immediately tense at that voice.

"Nikias. Elder far behind you?"

"Not more than a minute. Apparently she's not too happy with you."

The door slams, opening roughly. Elder comes in arms crossed and heels clacking on the floor.

Elder comes in the door.

I turn to Elder and stand up.

"Hello, June."

* * *

Hey, please tell me if this story is moving too fast or is getting confusing etc. Also, Nikias is sacred animal transformation of Ares. Ares animals are dog, boar and vulture. The zodiac already has the boar and dog, so I went with vulture to avoid overlapping. Anyways, thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing (?)

thanks a ton,

BeingWhoIWishIWas :)


	4. Everyone hates surprises

Authors Note!

Heyyy! So yeah, I know I'm evil for making June Elder but it's fun being evil! XD Anyways, this chapter is a liiittle bit crazy so please ell me if it's just getting ridiculous and hard to follow at this point. (Yay! Fight Scene!)Also, I'm mixing around the episodes a little bit (We've meet Hatori and Momiji but Tohru hasn't gone back to grandpa's yet, see?) so if things are out of order in the next few chapters, don't worry; I've always been this crazy! XD Hope you like it!

On with chapter four!

* * *

"What are you doing here, June?" I snarl.

She looks down on me and smirks, "That's _Elder _to you, Aella."

"In which case you must call me The Athena." I retort, glaring daggers at her.

"Ha! I can think of no one less deserving of that title!" She says bitingly.

Even Nikias looks doubtful about that. Even the Elder is supposed to show respect to the rest of the members of the Family, it's expected. Elder is supposed to be the role model of the Family. June is probably the least deserving of all of us to be the Elder, the Zeus of the Family.

I want to voice my opinions of her, but I keep quiet and instead reply, "What do you want, June?"

"_Elder!_" She spits like venom.

"_I said,_ What do you want?" I restate, equally venomous.

"Hey! She asked you a question." Kyo backs me up, I look back at him gratefully.

June _hmphs _and then snarls back at Kyo,_ "_Stay out of this, you are ignorant."

"I doubt you know the meaning of that." Nikias cackles, "It means stupid, for your information."

Kyo, for once, doesn't say a word. He just stands up and walks up beside me and then grabs Nikias by the shirt collar and punches him so fast, Nikias couldn't even react in time. Kyo's fist lands on Nikias's jaw and sends him flying, tearing through the paper door. Tohru starts flailing around yelling at them to stop and not to fight etc. etc.

Nikias gets up, nursing his face, then he charges back into the house, headed for Kyo yelling wildly. Kyo takes a hit to the side but retaliates with a high kick, it lands on his chest. They race towards each other again and I step in between them and push Kyo away, taking his place, he looks angry at first then realizes that this is my fight; Nikias started it and I will finish it. Nikias's attack on Kyo had nothing to do with Kyo himself whatsoever. I lunge forward and swing my arm back, then forward; my elbow connects with his stomach and then his shoulder. I duck underneath a swing and shoot back up, I swing my weight back and do a basic backflip, stretching my legs out, my feet catch his chin and he does a similar backflip, though less intentional and less graceful if I do say so myself.

Nikias lands on his back and snarls, "I will not be beaten by the Athena! I am the great Vulture of Ares!"

I stand over him and say, "Don't worry, Nikias, I'm not going to take your place as Elder's pet."

I hear a laugh and whip around.

"Well done, Aella." June says smugly.

"Why 'well done?'" Kyo asks, startled.

"None of your business!" June snaps at him.

He crosses his arms and stands firm, "Oh yeah?"

Yuki raises an eyebrow and inputs, "Indeed. Aella is our friend, it is our business."

June glares at him, "The Sohma's have long been friends of the Family. Do not spoil it now!"

Shigure just looks at the scene intently, serious for once in his life. He stands up and says, "We should not be fighting, Elder, you are not welcome. You've provoked members of the Zodiac and Akito will not be pleased."

"Ha! Like he cares if I provoke the cat, the outcast!" She smirks.

"You've provoked Yuki, Akitos favorite, The Rat."

June frowns and beckons at Nikias, "Fine. We'll leave." With that she storms out, Nikias limping and sulking behind her.

* * *

"Well, that was quite the adventure." Shigure says in his creepily-positive manner.

"That's one way of putting it." Yuki mutters, annoyed.

"Who do they think they are?" Kyo huffs.

Tohru comes in from the kitchen cheerful and smiling. She comes and sits down with us again. It's silent for a long time.

"It's too quiet." Kyo complains. _Once spoken, broken; Silence. _

_"_Well, we could figure out what to do about Miss Aella." Shigure suggests.

Yuki raises an eyebrow and sniffs, "You talk about her like she's a stray animal needing to be dealt with."

I shrugs and say, "I basically am."

"Couldn't she just stay with us?" Tohru asks, brow creasing in worry.

"Eh. I'm not sure how Akito would react to that..." Shigure trails off into thought.

"Besides, I've been quite enough trouble to you all as it is, I'll just find an apartment to rent for a while, I have some money from my job, it should be enough for a while." I say calmly. I really don't want to trouble them more; they've done more than enough for me in the past 24 hours than June's done in the past 14 years, after my parents died two years before then.

"What time is it, anyway?" Yuki asks.

Shigure glances into the kitchen and reports, "About 12 O' eight, makes me yawn just thinking about it."

I nod and say, "Yeah, it's late. I should probably get going." I stand up and slip on my shoes.

Kyo scowls at me, but it's Yuki that says, "Just wait a moment Miss Aella, let us figure this out with you. We want to help."

I color a bit pink and reply, "It's fine, you've done more than enough.

"Just sit down, already." Kyo said, rolling his eyes at me.

I roll my eyes right back and sit down without further protest.

"Well, I guess you can stay the night, after that I have to 'OK' it with Akito." Shigure sniffs, "You can stay with Tohru. We'll figure out what to do with you in the long term tomorrow morning." I say thanks and we all head to bed.

_That was the Strangest Day in the History of Ever..._


	5. Not Good

"Good morning." I mumble, bleary eyed and half asleep, rubbinh my eyes as I enter the kitchen.

"Oh!" Tohru smiles cheerily, "I'm not used to people being up so early! The others are still asleep."

"Do you need any help with breakfast?" I ask, walking to the sink to wash my hands.

"Huh?" She says, looking up, surprised. "No, it's alright."

I shrug and reply, "Okay, tell me if you change your mind."

Tohru smiles and waves me away. I walk out of the kitchen and onto the front porch; it's a beautiful day and the sunligjt warms my skin. Hm, what day is it? Ah, it's Saturday...who starts school on a Friday!? June is weird... Then I remember that she's Elder and the slight fondness dissipates without delay. My brow furrows and a cloud passes over the sun, momentarily chilling the air. I frown and stare at my feet, suddenly realizing that I'm still in yesterdays clothes, I fell asleep on a cot in the upstairs hallway (couldn't sleep in the study or another downstairs room, because Momiji was here last night; wrecked half the house! And Tohru's still sorting out her stuff so the hallway was my only option.)

I walk back into the kitchen and ask, "Do you have any clothes I could borrow until I sneak into June's to get my stuff?"

Tohru laughs and says, "Yes, that'd be alright. I think you're a little taller than me, but other than that you can borrow whatever you like."

I thank her and head upstairs into Tohru's room. I look through the tops, picking out the plainest one, a pastel blue top. I cringe at the flower at the bottom corner but put it on anyway. A pink skirt is the only thing long enough to fit me. I frown but am grateful all the same, it's not my style but I need clothes that aren't covered in dirt, feathers and a little blood from my fight with Nikias. I head downstairs, much to the amusement of the bots. The jean shorts and t-shirt are a long leap away from the outfit I was presently wearing.

"Ha! You look like a mean Tohru!" Kyo snickers.

I cross my arms and glare daggers at him. Shigure doesn't bother muffling his laughter. Yuki doesn't notice; I'm pretty sure he's sleepwalking.

When Shigure regains his composure he manages to say, "Why don't you borrow one of the boy's clothes? You look like you can barely move!"

Kyo laughs and says, "Ha! Between Tohru and Yuko, Aella's going to look hysterical all day! Maybe she should wear a robe like Shigure, too!"

Tohru comes around the corner with a basket of laundry, she picks up a pair of cargo pants and a black t-shirt. "I bet these you be ok, right?"

I nod, not stopping to think whose they are.

"Hey! Those are mine!" Kyo protests. I blush, nearly refuse them and then decide it's more fun to mess with Kyo than not.

"Thanks, Kyo!" I call out, mockingly, before going upstairs to change. A vein pops on his head and he honestly can't talk he's so pissed off. I just laugh and continue walking up the stairs. I change in the bathroom, and I don't look bad, not pretty or anything special but I look less like a wanna-be than I did in Tohru's clothes. I go back downstairs and mockingly bow to everyone before plopping down on a cushion, just in time for breakfast.

Kyo's staring at me and I'm not sure if it's because he's mad or what his deal is. I roll my eyes and thank Tohru for the meal.

"Well, I'm off to-" I start but a knock at the door cuts off my sentence.

I head for the door and open it, revealing Nikias. I bristle and hiss, "What are you doing here?"

He swallows shakily and replies, "She's done it! She killed The Poseidon!"

My mouth goes dry. Jason was one of the best, June wouldn't have killed him off...unless she found out about his lie. Poor Jason!

"When? That doesn't explain why you're here." I say, angry tears start to burn at the back of my eyes. Jason and I had a rough start, but recently we had become close friends.

"She's after me next; can't you see it?" He says clenching his fists, "She's tipped! Anyone not essential to the ritual is getting cut! She'll start soon, any excuse means death."

He looks at me bitterly, "But don't you worry your pretty little head about it, you're safe until the end of the year." I put my hands on his shoulders and shake him.

"That's not it, you idiot! Jason was leaving the Circle in secret to see some girl. She knew about us, so June killed Jason, and probably her, too."

"What's this about a ritual, anyways?" Yuki and Kyo speak, simultaneously.

I pause, then respond with caution, "It's...like a sacrificial ceremony, June tells us that it will 'cure' us. I don't believe it though, only the Zeus can survive that ceremony, even if June says differently."

Yuki nods but Kyo says, "That's dumb! Why would she do that?"

"Zeus's only care is for power, if burning the fellow cursed is the way to get it, that's what she'll do."

A new voice enters the conversation from behind Nikias, raspy but still used to being heard, "So June lies."

"Ah!" Yuki's eyes widen, afraid and uncomfortable.

I push past Nikias and glare at Akito, she hasn't changed much, but she's gone back to her old disguise.

We glare at each other, sizing each other up.

Akito breaks eye contact first, and I say, "You left long ago. Why now?"

"Elder threatened my only friend."

* * *

Authors Note;

So this story is getting weird, right? I have some explaining to do! Akito was the same Akito mentioned earlier, as Aella's friend. Akito is a girl, like she is in the manga, and this mini-plot involving Akito will play out over the next few chapters, then we'll get back to my main plot (the mini-plot sends ripples throughout)

Review!

Thanks,

BeingWHoIWishIWas


	6. Moo

_Elder threatened my only friend._

This immediately sets off alarm bells inside my head; Akito and I had a falling out a few weeks before he disappeared. My eyes narrow to slits and I grit my teeth, recalling why our once sibling-like relationship blew up in flames. I don't ask about

"What do you know about June's plan?" I say grudgingly.

Akito shrugs, "Not a whole lot." His eyebrow raises a little, "The Sohma's and the Family haven't had much contact as of late."

I nod, it figures. Yuki's eyes keep darting from me to Akito to me again; to say he's on edge would be an understatement. Shigure is pretty relaxed and Kyo has managed to slip away, probably to the roof. I roll my eyes in his general direction, jealous.

"Aella, why did you and June come here anyway? Without alerting the Sohmas, but going to the same highschool as several of them, on top of that." Akito says, eyes narrowed.

My eyes widen as I realize something "The Family must have started to figure her out, we've been moving around like we're trying to shake a demonhound off our tail. She's done something, I just don't know what yet."

Akito nods, "Perhaps."

He turns her head around, surveying the room. He smiles slightly at Yuki, but it's more threatening than anything.

Hatori suddenly appears behind Akito just as she begins a coughing fit and leads her away with a small nod in the general direction of me, then leaving us for the rest of an uneventful weekend.

* * *

"I can't believe how boring that was!" Uo says to Hana, Tohru and me, referring to the lesson we had just before lunch. I nod, about ready to fall flat on my face. I pull my long black hair into a pony tail, scowling as I find a hair on my jacket that has the beginnings of white at the top. Pros of being the owl-hair is always soft, Cons-my hair is naturally pure white.

"What are you so sour about?" Uo eases, elbowing me in the ribs.

I shrug and reply, "Ima have to dye my hair again soon."

'HUH?! You're hair isn't black?" She says, surprised.

I shrug, "June doesn't like to stand out, and she didn't want me to either. I'm just used to it."

"So what color is it usually?" Tohru asks.

"Huh?" I ask surprised, "It's a really light blonde." What? It's not like they'd believe it if I said it was white.

Hana shrugs and replies, "Lets go eat."

We meet Kyo and Yuki at a table, and plop down; happy to be done with class for a while. There's the typical bickering, but nothing eventuful for the rest of the day.

* * *

Kyo, Yuki, Tohru and I walk back to the Shigure's house together, and Yuki coughs a few times as we enter.

Later in the evening, Shigure walks in, rubbing his wet hair and gleefully (for no reason whatsoever) says, "Who's next, Yuki?"

Yuki looks up, face a little pink and an almost dazed-look on his face, "I think I'll skip tonight."

"WHAT?! Yuki! How can you _stand_ to be so _dirty_!" He says, looking utterly scandalized.

Yuki just sighs and says something about not feeling so great. Tohru imediately rushes over and puts her hand on Yuki's forehead, making his sick-blush and actual blush. I smirk in their general direction. Shigure heads over to get some medicine just as Kyo bursts into the room, grinning like mad and surrounded by a scary looking flames, which I'm not entirely sure is just my imagination or what the crap is going on there. Anyway, the flames are besides the point; KYo was seriously pumped up about some thing or another.

As it turns out, the endurance race is tomorrow and despite Tohru's concerns about Yuki's health, Kyo's only response is to "give him something to eat and send him to bed." and with that he marches out. YUki's ever complex reply is to cough.

* * *

"Are you going to be OK for the race today?" Tohru asks, face riddled with worry, after they discuss Uo's absence.

Yuki assures us that he'll be just fine. I glance at his face and can tell that he's not feeling so good. I put my hands on my hips and stare him down, doing my best to be intimidating in this awful gym outfit that's been worn by at least a few generations of sweaty teenagers before me. "Yeah, good luck convincing us of that."

He shrugs and glances at a fiery (again?! What is with me? HALLUCINATIONS?! ITS PURPLE!) Kyo, who's glaring at Yuki with all his might.

"Alright! It's time for the girls to start!" Coach calls us.

Tohru smiles at me and Hana, and says, "Let's do our best for Uo, OK?"

We nod and Hana immediately drops to the ground, urging us to go on without her. It's like this is some movie or anime or something, its _that_ dramatized. So, me and Tohru run on, a slower pace than my usual, but I'm out of practice, as usual for the first few weeks after I move homes. Suddenly, Tohru spots something, and I see it too; a hair of pure white hair. Tohru scrambles down shouting things about old men and falling over. I see his punk-style outfit and smirk. Oh, Tohru, poor thing! The white haired-guy stands up and looks at us like we're crazy.

"Do you know where Sohma House is?" He asks.

Tohru's eyes widen, and asks if he's a Sohma, and the question she wants to ask is written all over her face as she wonders if he's a part of the Zodiac. I roll my eyes and stare him down, questioningly.

"So why do ya want to go to Sohma House? Looking for someone?" I say, instinctively suspicious of everyone.

The white-haired boy shrugs, and Tohru asks his name.

"Hatsuharu Sohma." He says absent mindedly, peering over our shoulders before saying, "Here he comes." He puts his hand on a rope that's tied to the bumpers on the other side of the street and holding the rope tightly, as if waiting for something. Two boys come speeding down the road just as I figure out what he's about to do. I let out a half-gleeful, half-scolding yelp-shriek-thing-noise. The orange headed boy and the silver headed one...wait a second...orange and silver hair!? Kyo gains a two foot lead just as he's nearing the trip-rope. A half second passes and he's on his face, Tohru shrieks and Yuki looks at him, not showing a whole lot of emotion. I just snicker a bit and I'm OK after that.

Kyo finally sits up and glares at Haru as he faces a direction no one's standing in and says, "Don't try this at home, if Kyo were anyone else, He'd be seriously hurt."

"SO DON"T TRY IT HERE, YOU IDIOT!" Kyo howls furiously, his face turning a fantastic shade of red, hair bristling and kitty-ears popping out from his head.

I laugh and cross my arms, "Poor Kitty-Cat! Fell off the couch again, sweetie?" I tease him, enjoying the results, even Yuki cracks a smile at that, Tohru tries to hide hers.

Before Kyo can speak audible sentences again, Yuki says, "So why are you here, Haru?"

"I' here to challenge Kyo."

* * *

So yeah, I tweaked and cut a whole lot of dialogue in that, mainly because Aella's in this, and I can't exactly remember ever line, word for word. (Hangs head in shame; I used to be able to say lines as the charcters were! WAH!) Yeah, so if you notice any mistakes, hat it, love it or aren't sure what on mars to make of this story, TELL ME, YELL AT ME BUT DO NOT SAY IT SUCKS WITHOUT TELLING ME **_WHAT EXACTLY SUCKS ABOUT_ IT**! I have no problems with criticism, as long as its constructive :)

Sorry about how long this took to post; my imaginary friends wouldn't speak with me so I couldn't write...I mad them mad, they made me a giant metaphorical cement block and stuffed it in my brain and blocked off Fruits basket and Aella from my creativeness. Sucks, right?

YOU ARE ALL AMAZING FOR READING MY STORY AND PUTTING UP WITH MY AUTHORS NOTES!

...

unless you just skipped to the bottom and happened to read this by accident.

(MIND BLOWN.)

Love you all!(Even if you skipped to the bottom for an unknown reason) A special thanks to anyone who reviews, favorites and follows, you are all super fantastic!

-BeingWhoIWishIWas :)


	7. Challenges, Coughs and Cows

"I'm here to challenge Kyo." Hatsuharu deadpans, not seeming too into it.

Until Kyo refuses. That's when a funny glint enters Haru's eyes, and Yuki says, "Hey, Kyo, maybe you should do what he says."

"No way am I going to..."

_CRACK! _

Haru had slammed his head down onto the back of Kyo's neck. I clench my fists a little, but I'm fairly sure that if I interfere now, Kyo will never forgive me, so I cross my arms and glare at both of them, half hoping that they would just catch on fire.

So, basically, after that, Kyo and Haru pretty much go at each others throats, fury fully unleashed. Neither really has a clear upperhand.

At some point, they start talking pretty loud; but I only get the gist of it. Something about "Doing this and that" and a girl...I look over at Tohru and decide they're talking about her. If they were talking about me, I'd bust their heads.

Kyo looks pretty confused about it, I'm guessing that Haru isn't typically like this. Tohru starts talking and I ask, "Huh?"

"Oh, Tohru just said that we might want to stop them, but I wouldn't really want to be the one to get between them." Yuki says, smiling.

"Yeah." I say, "I'm pretty impressed with them, but its annoying that they have to fight now. Haru seemed to be pretty nice a few minutes ago." I shrug.

"Yes, he's become Black Haru; that's what we call him when he gets like this. Haru's usually pretty easy to get along with but once he snaps he's unstoppable." Yuki explains, "And I suppose Kyo does look more impressive compared to Haru."

Yuki continues on to explain how both of them have been training in martial arts since they were kids (as though that wasn't obvious, but I suppose Tohru might not be able to discern a talented brginner from a hard-trained avergae fighter. Though, Kyo and Haru are both pretty talented, and might be a whole lot better if they figured out how to THINK and use anger to their advantage rather then letting instinct and rage take over; which works well until you go up against someone like Yuki and his steely calmness.)

"So he's like Kagura?" Tohru asks. Kagura? Who? I don't even ask.

Haru stalks up to the three of us and Yuki leans against the wall, annoyed, as Haru puts his hand under Yuki's chin.

"I'm saying he's a thousand times worse." He says.

"Enjoying the view, Yuki? Because I'm coming for you next." He smirks.

He whirls around, "Get up, Kyo!"

"I've been up, where were you?!" Kyo snarls.

Yuki coughs.

The two boys continue to fight, Yuki continues to cough. I just glare.

Haru's started to taunt Kyo about not being about not being able to beat Yuki. Something about snails and amoebas and whatnot. I shake my head.

Then, Yuki kneels over in a coughing fit, wheezing and eyes bulging a little bit. Kyo and Haru don't notice, and I don't have an honest clue what to do. Therefore, I interfere.

"HEY! Orange Top! Cow-Punk! Pay attention for a half second, would you?" I yell at them. They face me, blinking but not really comprehending. So, I march over, grab their hair and yank them over to Yuki and Tohru and point my index finger at Yuki.

"What are we going to do about this?!" I ask, narrowing my eyes in a glare at the two of them. Someone says something about athsma, and Tohru goes into full freak out mode, worry written all over her face, and I do my best to calm her down.

"We should take him to the mainhouse." Haru says. Yuki grabs at Haru's ankle in protest.

"Fine, we'll take him to Shigure's but it'd be hard to explain if he transformed in the backseat if we took at taxi." Haru reasons out loud. He glances at Tohru and then at me. I don't like this one bit, especially since Yuki's coughing his lungs out while we figure out what to do.

Haru lurches forward, and his arms go around my waist. After a second or so, I'm released from my shock and react violently.

By violently, I mean Haru's met with a sharp elbow in the gut, he backs up and is sent flying by my foot connecting with his chest. I cross my arms over my chest and glare daggers at him.

"None of that crap." I say, irritated. He looks shocked, but Kyo points at my wrist (more specifically, my bracelet.) and a vague understanding enters his eyes. Haru's dazed, but gets up, says something about Tohru being cute and hugs her, and promptly transforms into a cow with a puff of smoke.

"It'll be easier on Yuki if we carry him like this." He truns his head to a very mortified Tohru and says, "Keep your arms around my neck so I don't transform."

Tohru shyly wraps her arms around Haru's neck, red faced and embarrassed. Kyo and I walk behind them awkwardly as we make our way through town. And I'm a little jealous of Tohru; everyone can talk to her so easily, but me? The second anyone says a word to me, they catch a glimpse of my permanently scowling face are scared off or think I dislike them. Apparently, Kyo is blind or something.

"Where'd you learn martial arts?"

His question unsettles me, and I almost stumble over my words, "Uh, My mom and dad trained me to first degree black belt, and I'm not sure what I'm considered at this point. I trained with June some, but we argued a lot so I mostly train by myself. What about you?"

Kyo nods, his orange hair sheilding his eyes, "My Master trained me, and still does when he's around." He looks up sharply, "But don't listen to Shigure and Yuki about my training in the mountains! I wasn't fightingbears or any of that stupid stuff."

"Nobody's said anything about you training in the mountains." I reply, a little surprised.

Kyo crosses his arms and scowls.

So, I punch him in the arm and say, "Cheer up, Kitty; I'm not a gossip, so if I hear stuff 'bout you I'm not gonna immediately think it's true, okay?"

"Huh?" He says, looking a little weirded-out by my mini-speech and replies with a very thoughtful, "Um, OK."

I roll my eyes, but I'm not offended by his lack of anything; most people have to take a bit of time to figure out if they actually want to be my friend or not; I'm not exactly your typical teenager, even by Sohma standards.

"You know," I say, more thinking out loud than speaking to Kyo, "You'd be a whole lot better if you could manage that temper of yours."

I hallcinate cat ears popping up from his head and flattening against his head like a cats when they're mad, "Says you! You've got a pretty bad temper too!"

I cross my arms and huff, "Yeah, but I don't let it affect how I fight...maybe who and when I fight but not how."

"Yeah, right." Kyo says.

I shrug, cooling my anger a little, "Sorry, didn't mean to piss you off. But seriously, just try thinking about your move a little more, and analyze your opponents."

Kyo lets his arms hang by his sides, and shrugs, "So, I know you're trained, but you also said that you mostly practice by yourself nowadays, how do you keep your skills up if you never actually spar and stuff?"

"I usually just hang out at random dojos and practice until someone asks to spar or I ask them. But I'm falling out of practice a little bit." I say, "So if you and Yuki want to spar every now and again, I wouldn't mind."

Kyo nods half-heartedly and we finally get onto Sohma property.

A few minutes later and Shigure's stifling a giggle, "You came all this way looking like _that?_" This resulted in three pairs of eyes rolling, half-relieved and half-annoyed.

* * *

Authors Note.

So that chapter sucked to write, it was pretty boring and I don't like it, so I might replace it at some point. Sorry for the delayed update; this cahpter was written with a headache. So anyways, we'll finish up the Haru bit, and possibly get some sparring in for the next chapter but I'm not sure.

Thanks a ton for reading (and possibly reviewing?)

-BeingWhoIWishIWas


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry this took me so long to update! I'm not overly commited to any pairings in this, so beware; its highly possible that I don't bother doing an major (or even minor) romance, sorry. *Shrugs* Anyways, if you've got any suggestions feel free to tell me. :) You're all fabulous! Please review; I'll most likely update faster! (But Im vacationing this next week so I'll have to type on my phone if at all :( so maybe not next week.)

Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!

-BeingWhoIWishIWas

* * *

Haru and Shigure manage to get Yuki up the stairs and into bed, and everyone stays in the room with him. Suddenly, there's a puff of white smoke and I cover my eyes before I see anything I'd rather not. Tohru squeals and whirls around, shocked and embarassed despite not seeing anything.

"Put some clothes on!" Kyo yells, as Haru says that he'll phone Hatori.

"Is it safe?" I ask Kyo, my eyes still squeezed shut.

"Huh? Yeah." He says, irritated.

"I'm going to get an ice pack, Yuki's running a fever." Tohru declares, determined to help. Kyo just storms downstairs, probably to track down his challenger. I roll my eyes and follow Tohru downstairs after everyone's favorite kitty. Happy sarcasm to me.

I sigh, annoyed; Kyo's been out of sight for ten seconds and he's already got Haru in a headlock.

"You think you can just go White again and walk away from a fight?!" Kyo snarls. Ah, Haru must have wanted to stop fighting for today; unlucky for him Kyo's adrenaline was still up.

"So, you're not Black Haru anymore?" Tohru asks.

"Uh, no."

"Sorry, it just seems like you're a whole nother person!" Well done, Tohru. That wold be the whole point of him changing from his darker personality and back.

Anyways, Kyo ends up going back to school and slamming the door behind him, and Shigure heads off to the school to pick up Tohru and my stuff with a gleeful look on his face...runaway all girls under the age of fifty, run fast.

Tohru and Haru head into the kitchen, and I decide to head outside for some air, no point in staying around here; I'm no nurse and I'm sick of being around people and if I don't get some time to think I might just spontaneusly combust. Forest it is, I walk off the porch and into the forested area without bothering to put shoes on my barefeet.

I wander through the trees, the brisk air and rays of light leeking through the entangled branches and leaves make the forest feel almost ethreal, as though seeing a faerie wouldn't overly surprise me. I scoft at the idea but like it all the same. My thoughts drift; what am I going to do with myself now that I have no legal guardian? Stay with the Sohmas? Would Akito even let me? Or would it be better for everyone if I just figured things out myself? After all, they're already housing Tohru; It'd be easier to find myself an apartment and I haven't been here long enough to be missed anyways. I shrug and decide not to obsess over it right now, no point in that. A lovely, ancient tree looms in front of me, with low branches that seem almost made for climbing. I smile a little and without further hesitation, reach for the lowest branch. I brace me feet on the trunk before pushing off, towards a higher one. I swing my feet around and put my foot on the branch just a foot lower than my handhold. Not exactly comfortable, but I manage to hold it long enough to reach up for a higher branch and after that it's basically like climbing a ladder. When I finally find a thick enough, and high enough branch, I sit with my legs hanging down and right hand resting on a slightly higher branch for caution. But even if I did manage to fall, the other banches would break my fall well enough so I would survive. Or I could just tug my bracelet off and be fine. Either way works. I stay there for a while, tranquil for the first time in a long while.

After almost an hour, I hear the sharp sound of twigs snapping underfoot. I raise an eyebrow, at a loss as to what or who it might be. I quickly climb down, not overly worried if it end up being a person or animal; plenty of trees to climb and plenty of energy if I need to kick some butt. I wander a little in the direction of the sounds, finding myself near the path that everyone takes to get to the house, and I see a blob of orange. Oh, it's probably just Kyo. I think, feeling a litle silly for my suspiciousness. I walk out onto the road and wave.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing out here?" Kyo snarls.

"I was just out in the woods when I heard some noise, didn't know it was you." I explain coolly, not caring for his grouchiness.

Kyo shrugs, then sniffles and coughs.

He's silent as we walk back, and I finally get sick of it, "You're not very talkative."

Kyo raises and eyebrow as though to say, "No, really?"

"Why were you out here anyways?" He asks, "Didn't Shigure or Tohru tell you it's dangerous?"

I mock taking offense, "What? You didn't think I could handle myself against a few coyotes or creeps? I'm hurt!"

His face colors, "Hey! I didn't mean it like that!" He sees my smirk and scowls, then has a coughing fit before saying, "you were teasing me?"

I nod, "You need to lighten up, jeez. Maybe you should hang out with Tohru more often or something."

He looks at me questioningly.

"Well if you don't hang out with your friends you'll never relax is all I'm saying. All you ever do is train, go to school and fight with Yuki."

This observation causes more scowling from Kyo, which I ignore.

We get back to Shigure's house and head inside.

"Oh, Kyo's back!" Tohru exclaims, then turns to me, wearing as close to a scowl as Tohru can, "Where did you go? You just disappeared!"

I shrug and say, "I was just taking a walk in the forest. I found Kyo so I walked back with him."

Hatori enters the room and I nod in greeting, "How's Yuki?" I ask.

"Doing well." He replies.

I find something to eat after my stomach grumbles at me and then I walk to Kyo and Haru, "So, do you guys want to spar? I'm bored and dinner won't be ready for a while according to Tohru."

"Huh?" Kyo says, his voice sounding as though his nose is stuffed up.

"Well, I guess I never finished my figh with Kyo." Haru ponders.

"Awesome, so you two against me? I feel like a challenge today." I say, baiting the two hot-tempered boys into fighting me.

"I hardly think that's fair if I go Black." Haru says.

I smile, "Oh, don't worry about me, if I get in too much trouble I'll yeild, though I doubt that'll happen. You two won't be too much of a challenge." I say, crossing my arms. For whatever reason my anger at June has resurfaced and I want to practice in case I'm met with one of her pets, and it'll be good for the Sohmas to get better in case the Family comes after them for the association with me.

"Fine, I'll fight." Kyo says, smirking, "But don't cry when you get beaten to a pulp."

I laugh and grin wickedly, "Don't count on it."

"I'm in too, It'll be good training even if you're as good as you seem to think." Haru says.

I nod and take a loose stance on the grass, arms up but not stiff. The boys find their own places and Hatori settes on the porch, eyes narrowed; curious and analytical.

I look Kyo and then Haru in the eyes as I say, "Lets begin, shall we."

A split second later, my two opponents charge across the grass as me. I grin at the determination in each of their eyes and think, maybe this will be a challenge after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Ok, so do you guys remember how I said I was majorly mixing up the episodes, yeah, it's going to come into play A LOT so don't freak out when events go all crazy. This is because I wanted Aella to come in at a certain point but also impact/experience certain events in the series; hence the overlapping and mixing up. This chapter is going to be small part of Invincible Friendship (gotta get that fight in, don't we?), and the next episode (may not be one chapter) will most likely be Everyone Like Chocolate. :)Please tell me if this is working or not, I really appreciate feedback, so thanks to any reviewers and favorite/followers; you're all super amazing and I hope I don't disappoint! :)

thanks,

BeingWhoIWishIWas

* * *

I slide underneath Kyo's kick and whirl around and jump up with enough time to land a roundhouse kick on his side as he stumbled from the momentum he had after I ducked under his kick (Haru was pretty surprised too.) Anyways, I kick Kyo and he's pushed back a few feet before falling into a neat roll, standing up and charging me just as Haru whips around lunges at me. I duck under Haru's punch and rocket upwards into a backflip; he narrowly misses my feet hitting his face as I do this. I stick the landing and leap upwards, but the little punk moves before my feet can crash down on him. I hit the ground a little less gracefully than before but there's no hesatation when I jam my elbow at Kyo's chest, which he manages to mostly deflect to the side. Haru throws another punch but I duck yet again and dive for his feet; long story short, he crashes into Kyo and now they're both utterly fuming and I'm just flat out amused.

Any who, once the two raging teens disentangle themselves, they take a more defensive approach. Well, at least they're learning; albeit a little slowly for my liking. Let's speed this up a bit shall we?

I swing my arms back, stretching a little. I roll my shoulders back and decide that if they've pre-decided defense, I better coax them out of it. It's a bad idea to make your strategy defensive when you've got a temper like Kyo or Haru and you can't check it at all; but I'm not convinced that they know this so I guess I'll have to teach them.

"All right you pint-sized-punks, are you just going to stand there gawking all day or actually land a hit or two?" I deadpan, sounding ridiculously bored. When I get no response I continue my baiting, "Oh, I guess you've just given up then It's probably better this way; you weren't keeping up well and I wouldn't want to hurt either of you beginners by accident." Both boys are clenching their fists and grinding their teeth; not far from snapping. No way am I putting up with Kyo holding back again.

I notice that we've gained an audience besides Hatori; Yuki and Shigure were probably drawn to the window by all the noise, I admit; I'm surprised to see that Yuki's already up and about.

I sigh, relax my stance and straighten up my posture, "Fine, I'm sure Yuki could put up a better fight than you two anyway; I guess I'll have to wait for him to get well again before I can have a proper fight."

Finally, Kyo snaps, "Don't think that for a second you stupid girl!" He lunges and throws a punch, swinging his arm out wide. I hold my forearm out and drop into a stanceand move forward and left slightly so that my arm meets the inside of his elbow. He's surprised and I bring my arm back down and jab my elbow into his gut.

"Oh, Kyo; you've got too bad a temper! Keep your arm in, like you know you should; I'm not an ameatur." I smirk as he gasps and is forced back a few feet.

Kyo charges again, and I think Haru's learned by watching that it's not smart to lunge at me head on. Kyo's foot flies past my head by a few inches and I comment, "Better."

After about five minutes of missing and getting hit, Kyo finally manages to land a punch. I grin and say, "Finally! Stop holding back, would you? I'm not made of glass!" Doubt and confusion flash in his eyes before he just returns my grin with a wicked one of his own.

I manage to block or deflect a little over three-quarters of Kyo's hits, and him about half of mine, but he's definetly keeping up. Both of our noses are bleeding though I daresay his is worse. My lips are tugged into a smirk, and I have to admit, I admire his determination.

"Dinner's ready!" Tohru calls from inside, and it's getting later and colder. Kyo sniffles and coughs as we finally end our spar.

"Don't worry, Kitty boy, Cow-punk; I'll crush you next time we fight, OK?" I say cheerily with a fake sweet-innocent-girly smile. Kyo snorts and Haru just shrugs.

* * *

So, Tohru has decided to tell Uotani and Hana that she's living with the Sohma's today (And Akito approved of me staying with them, so that's a good temporary solution, I'm staying on the floor in Tohru's room. I still have to pick up my clothes and stuff, probably will soon...but Tohru, Uo and Hana took me shopping for a few clothes, just enough for now so I don't have to keep borrowing everyone's clothes-after a while Kyo wouldn't let me wear the cargo pants and Tshirt so I had to borrow Yuki's since I'm taller than Tohru...ugh, it's so annoying having to wear other people's clothes!)

The four of us sit on a blanket we've laid out on the grass. Tohru explains it all and Uo has the shock/almost mad and then Hana's moderately surprised. It's about what I expected of them.

...And somehow it's decided that the two of them will be coming to sleepover in order to inspect the living situation and whatnot. I raise an eyebrow at this and Uo's says, "Well it's not you we're worried about!"

"Thanks guys." I say dryily, despite the laugh bubbling up inside me.

Uo wraps her arms around Tohru's head, "Poor Tohru's too nice to make sure she's being treated fairly!"

Tohru promptly turn a bright shade of red and protests wildly with lots of hand waving and gestures, making us other three giggle at her defending the Sohma's so seriously. I lightly punch her in the arm and smile.

"Don't worry about it, we're all teasing! Besides, it'll be fun to have them over for a sleepover right?" I say, still smiling.

"Ah!" Tohru thinks about it for a second before smiling and saying, "Yes, I think it will!"


	10. Chapter 10

Hey, please review? It's so helpful! So anyways, anything to correct, suggest or comment on, feel free to-negative or positive. So yeah, this chapter is going to be Invinvcible Friendship and then after that we're gonna do another skippy-around-y-thing and head towards Everybody Love Chocolate! Yay! Oh, also, to one pf my guest reviewers; Akito is reffered to as a she in some of the last few books of the manga However, looking back on my writing, I've changed it so that Akito is back to being male so it's less confusing, OK? :)

-BeingWhoIWishIWas

* * *

Tohru and I finish tidying up as Shigure wonders what our friends are like (no doubt fantasising someone like the Yuki FanClub girls, when in reality..well, they're Uo and Hana) Which Kyo prompty explains, "A Yankee and a Psychic" Which causes Shigure to freeze and have an internal freak out. I laugh from the doorway and Shigure looks utterly betrayed by Tohru and my's choice of friends.

I shrug and say, "Whatever Shigure, you'll find them amusing at very least or they'll scare you." I shrug again, "Either one."

Apparently, this doesn't help a whole lot.

Uo and Hana come in and Tohru rushes to meet them, I stay seated with the boys and Shigure around the table.

I zone out but come back to earth in time to hear Kyo say something about this being a bad idea.

"It'll be tricky, no doubt. But, I think you three will survive." I say.

"What about you? Aren't you worried you might transform?" Yuki asks curiously.

"Nah. Not unless my bracelet gets pulled off. But if it does we're in trouble; I don't just automatically transform back so if you find my bracelet on the floor you might want to pick it up." I explain, holding up my left arm up to show my pure-white beaded bracelet. The three guys nod in understanding.

"Just don't do anything stupid." Yuki says aloofly.

"That does double for you, Rat-boy!" Kyo says, getting riled up.

"Yes, I think we would all do well to be careful while they're here. Because what would happen if either of them were to find out about the curse, do you think?" Shigure looks at Kyo and Yuki specifically, "At very least Tohru would no longer be allowed to live in this house."

"Well," Shigure says suddenly cheerful again, "Something's bound to turn out!" He finished with a giggle. Yuki rolls his eyes and claims something about Shigure liking to hear himself talk, which I think might be true.

Naturally, Hana walks in and the first thing she says is, "There's a dog." Everyone but the guest immediately tense and bristle before she adds, "Over there." And we all deflate and relax a little.

"Oh, yes, that's a dog!" Shigure exclaims happily and slightly embarrassed.

* * *

"So these are my friends, Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima." Tohru says with face-splitting smile.

Uo responds with a "Hey" and Hana says, "It's a pleasure."

"Yes, welcome, welcome." Shigure says with a smile, "Please, make yourself at home."

They nod, and Uo addresses Shigure, "So what do you do to pay the rent around here?"

Shigure absolutely glows and grins as he explains that he's a novelist; a shock to me and Tohru but I try not to show it considering that Tohru's got her surprise written all over her face. It doesn't help that she exclaims something about that being amazing and everyone looks at her like she's crazy.

"Why's this news to you?" I ask, trying to cover up her tracks, "He was talking about that earlier this week, I can't believe you've already forgotten."

Shigure feigns hurt, "Ah! Tohru!"

Tohru blushes and starts to say something but Yuki jumps in, "I believe Miss Honda may have been in the middle of her homework, so it's not surprising she forgot."

"Hm, okay then." Uo shrugs.

"What was it again, fine literature or something like that?" Yuki asks.

"Um-hm! That's right, this sort of story." He says, holding up a brightly-colored, small "novel" that, to put it lightly, was not worthy to be called literature. I looked at my friends, and everyone was wearing an utterly shocked and disgusted face, and Shigure looks a bit confused and says, "Oh, sorry, my mistake. This is my real work." He says, holding up a green book; a lot less scandalizing than the other one.

"This is something I just did for fun." He explains.

Uo immediately jumps down his throat, outraged, saying, "So that makes it OK to write that dime-store smut?!"

"You're a sicko, you know that!?" Kyo snarls.

"What were you thinking?" Yuki asks.

"He wasn't." I say in response, "Obviously."

And then there's Tohru, who thinks it's amazing that he's a novelist, no matter what it is he writes (or she's talking about the other book, which is a little beside the point of everyone else's disapproval.)

"Careful Miss Honda, you don't want to inflate his ego too much." Yuki says warily after Tohru says something about Shigure being important.

"Like his head could get any bigger than it already is." Kyo observes.

"You'd be surprised." I say skeptically.

Anyways, I zone out for a little while but they eventually get on the topic of how they became friends with Tohru and I immediately come back to earth; I've been wondering why a former gang member and a psychic ended up best friends with a super sweet, slightly naïve girl like Tohru; it's not something you'd expect.

Shigure demands a story, looking for back up from Kyo, Yuki and me. He gets a half-hearted "sure" from me and the boys just shrug.

"Uo saved me!" Tohru exclaims, starting the story, "'Hey Pin-Head, you better not step on those you $%#&!'"

Everyone's jaws drop and eyes widen at hearing Tohru curse; it's not an everyday occurrence.

"Um, do continue." I say. She looks at our shocked faces, blushed and says, "Wait, let me back up. This one time in middle school I dropped all my notes in the hall..." More cursing.

"What have I done?" Shigure mutters sullenly.

"Ha! Yeah, I remember that. I guess I could get a little rough back then." Uo says.

I roll my eyes and the boys look at her like she's insane, as though to say "_Back then?"_

"Well, you were still a Yankee back then, weren't you?" Tohru says.

"Yeah, I started running with them in...the fifth grade?" She says.

"Remember when you used to wear those masks all the time?"

"And I had my eyebrows thinned out and wore all those long skirts?" She laughs.

"Arisa, I think you're forgetting that you do all those things now." Hana says. I stifle a chuckle, amused.

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right!" Uo says laughing.

"That's lovely." Shigure starts, but I'm a little annoyed with him so I cut him off before he says anything else.

"Yeah." I spot Hana reading the colorful book shown to us by Shigure earlier, "Uh, Hana? Are you actually reading that!?"

"Haha, I'm flattered! What do you think?" Shigure asks.

"You don't want to know what I think...But when is volume two coming out?"

Shigure slinks away to his seat. Tohru looks at the room and everyone in it and looks like she's so happy she could cry.

"Hey, you OK?" I ask, smiling.

"Yes! Absolutely, everyone's getting along so well! It's so nice that we can all have a good time together like this." She says with a huge smile and then jumps up out of her seat and says, "Ooh! I know a fun thing we can do! Wait here, I'll be right back."

She runs out of the room happily.

* * *

"So then, Saki, you never did tell us how you got to be friends with Tohru!" Shigure says trying to break the awkward silence.

"Are you sure you're ready to hear?" She says, a dark-purple-ly aura around her (I swear; what is with these 'auras' purple or fiery...what the crap is wrong with me!?)

"Uh, no, it's fine, as long as you're friends now." Shigure chuckles nervously.

Anyways, Hana goes on to tell about how it was in middle school and how she had been transferred to Tohru's class because she had caused a "disturbance" at her last school. Shigure "remembers" that he has work to do and excuses himself.

"He ran away, he ran the hell away." Kyo mutters, narrowing his eyes and scowling viciously at the door Shigure used as his escape route.

"I gotta say, I didn't know what to make of this when she told us." Uo says quietly, "But it looks like Tohru's fitting right in here...I'm happy for her." She continues after a pause, "I can see why she didn't want to say anything at first, but still, we made a promise, the three of us swore over Kyoko's grave that when the time came, we would be there to help each other, no matter what! That probably sounds overdramatic, but it wasn't really, for us. After all, Tohru was our first real friend and everything." Uo paused again, pain and sadness flashed in her eyes, "You see, Tohru...Tohru and Kyoko both, were there for me when I needed someone most. Thanks to them, I found the strength to climb my way out of all the crap I'd fallen into." Uo slowly and carefully spun out the rest of her story, about how Tohru and her mom helped her to believe in herself, and that she remembered that the reason she wanted to change was so that she could be someone Tohru could be proud to call her friend. And that she felt like maybe she and Hana weren't doing a good enough job as friends because Tohru thought she shouldn't burden them. How silly that it; Tohru isn't someone who thinks about that, she just wants to help everyone be OK. I wish I could be that selfless.

"Nah," Kyo speaks up, "I just don't think she's the kind of girl that worries about stuff like that"

Hana peers over her book to study the two Sohmas curiously.

"Miss Honda is...the kind of person who puts others well being before her own." Yuki says, adding to Kyo's thought.

The door slides open and Tohru walks in, "Sorry it took me so long, I hope everyone is ready to play, Rich Man-Poor Man!"


End file.
